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Wednesday, 20 July 2016

We all know that some paints are like no others and the colour we're looking at in detail today, Farrow & Ball Hardwick White (5) is certainly one of them. With that accolade though comes the flip-side which can cause uncertainty: the colour shifts enormously...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White flooded with light but in an enclosed space

in different lights...

in different spaces...

and at different times of the day....

This is one of the reasons that I love certain colours so much. Farrow and Ball Hardwick White is the colour we've used in our family room and I LOVE it!

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room!

The quality of the paint ingredients means that these paints are the unicorns of the paint world. Magical and special...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on an overcast day

but it makes it super-hard to ever pin one down!!

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on a sunny afternoon

It's almost impossible to explain in only one post the enormous variety of direction this lovely paint can be taken in...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in full sun

...but a girl can try!!

In fact, this is the second Colour Study post I've made on Farrow and Ball Hardwick White. You can find the first one here. I've been able to use it a fair bit more since that post so I wanted to share my increased understanding of how it looks in various situations.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room!

As always, you need to consider which way your room faces. In those rooms receiving warming sunlight (in the Northern hemisphere, this is rooms that face South, South-East or South-West...), Farrow & Ball Hardwick White will be perceived as a gorgeous grey-green.

Farrow and Ball Slipper Satin on the walls with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on the chimney breast

BUT, be warned: this doesn't mean that this will be true all day.

It just means it's true WHEN the sun is pouring in.

Our family room faces South-West so it gets sunshine in the summer from about noon until teatime.

Our family room with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

However, the amount of time that, in the UK, the room is very sunny is, sadly, quite small!!

{Though I am writing this in what feels like blistering heat today!}

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room in sunshine!

Here is as close as possible to the same shot but this was taken on an overcast morning when any direct light is still around the front of the house... ....

An overcast morning

However, it also applies to the type of artificial light you want to use. If like me, you have a mixture of overhead light and lamps dotted around the room then you're going to experience the way Hardwick White slips and slides all over the place colour-wise!

Under the standard light bulbs, which cast a very yellow light, Hardwick White swings right round to its khaki-brown side...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in yellowish artificial light

Basically, the warmer the light, the more the yellower tones in Farrow & Ball's Hardwick White will show, potentially making it seem much more of a taupe-y, almost deep khaki shade.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White under white artificial light

Conversely, if your space is North-facing and receives next to no sunshine then you'll be living with the most beautiful relaxed grey with gentle blue-green undertones.

Another factor to consider when using Farrow & Ball Hardwick White is that this is a reasonably dark colour, particularly in smaller rooms where the shade has a chance to build in intensity.

The brighter your room, the lighter it will appear, which leads me nicely to the name: Hardwick White! Yes, there are a couple of situations I've seen where I can see why this might at a push be considered a white ( just look at the Farrow and Ball painted front doors below) but otherwise, please don't let the name confuse you! This is most definitely a mid-to-dark shade.

See how dark Farrow and Ball Hardwick White is in that corner is behind the door...

And it's because of its darker hue that Farrow and Ball Hardwick White works really well as an accent shade...

So how about using Hardwick White on your front door? Always bear in mind when choosing front door colours that paint looks several shades lighter in any exterior situation, and the more sun your front door receives, the paler the outcome you can expect...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door looking almost white!!

All external paintwork is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door in shade - much darker

All external paint is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

The front door is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in the shade

And again, Farrow and Ball Hardwick White will always appear paler when used to paint furniture...

Farrow and Ball Dove Tale walls with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on the bureau

Farrow and Ball Dove Tale on walls with dresser in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

This is image does a fantastic job at creating lots of little mini-rooms so you can clearly see the effect of light and shadow on Hardwick White...

Whole room in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Isn't the contrast between the darker corners and full glare of the front of the shelves amazing?

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White has to be one of the most changeable colours I've used...and that's why I love it!

Looking into our family room painted in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

You might have noticed that there is a significant absence of kitchens in this post. That's because I've come across so many gorgeous kitchens that use Farrow & Ball's Hardwick White that I thought I'd give them a post all of their own!

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